Mechanical Issues Force Vikings’ Plane to Turn Around Mid-Flight

Well, the plan Saturday for the Minnesota Vikings was to takeoff early this afternoon, bound for Newark, NJ, where they are scheduled to play the New York Giants on Sunday at noon.

That way, the team would touchdown out East just in time to get things tucked away at the team hotel, and put dinner plans into action. So, Kevin O’Connell met with his coaches and training staff, shuffled the roster so it was ready for flight… and settled in for a 2.5 hour flight out East.

And when the team boarded their plane on the tarmac at MSP Airport in Minneapolis, everything was going according to that plan. In fact, they took off, as planned, and made it all the way near Milwaukee airspace… before “something went wrong”mechanical issues” were detected.

Minnesota Vikings plane turned around due to “mechanical issue”

As of now, we do not know what the problem is. What we do know is that these mechanical issues were concerning enough that the pilots decided to turn the plane around a fifth of the way to Newark so it could make an emergency landing back at MSP, where [thank god] it touched back down safely.

And now, as of 6:30 p.m. CST… that’s where everyone still sits, as the Vikings await a second plane to show up and whisk them off to New Jersey.

The Vikings’ team plane to Newark had to turn around today and return to Minneapolis because of mechanical issues.

Minnesota is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday against the Giants in East Rutherford, N.J.

Statement from the team: “Shortly after departing, the team plane…

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 20, 2025

“Shortly after departing, the team plane experienced mechanical issues that required a return to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.”

Vikings Original Statement on Plane Issues

Another update from a Vikings team spokesman: “We are currently awaiting the arrival of a second plane and still intend to depart tonight.” https://t.co/jUcyJpXmod

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) December 20, 2025

Related: MN Vikings Living with Ed Ingram Regret?

Obviously, when news that the Minnesota Vikings airplane ran into mechanical issues first broke, the first thought was safety of everyone on-board. Thankfully, that assurance came with the news.

Still, I anxiously await some of the details of what happened in the air. Did everyone in that plane feel something? Were there any moments of insecurity while the entire team was 20,000 feet in the air?

Or, was this just a casual pilot’s call to the cabin, “folks, we’re turning around due to a mechanical issue”? Either way, it had to be a somewhat scary moment for a lot of those in the air, at the time.

Vikings remain grounded with game vs Giants looming

Now, onto the football part of the MN Vikings’ finagled flight plans on Saturday. Remember, their game tomorrow is scheduled to kickoff at noon, CST.

If the plane takes off when this article is published, the team will arrive in Newark around 10 p.m. EST, meaning they lose an hour of the day while in the air. That’s a little late, but not be the end of the world. However, if they sit at MSP much longer, it could become more of an issue.

When more details and or updates to this story are released, they will be added to this article.